


More Like Home

by Tarakuna



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, DreamSMP, mcyt
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Dadza, Derealization, Fluff, Found Family, Panic Attacks, technodad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29160801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarakuna/pseuds/Tarakuna
Summary: After Ranboo wakes up from a nightmare- He runs to Phil and Techno's Cabin in a panic.
Relationships: Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 753





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting- I originally was just writing this to practice writing and for fun, but then decided to post it because why not.

Ranboo shot up from dead sleep- a gasp of fear escaping his mouth. He trembled in the cold Arctic air as he sat silently on his rickety bed. His friends' voices still rang through his head- 

_ you betrayed us. _

They spun around his head, taunting him for every bad thing he’d done.

_ It was you. _

Images flashed into his mind, the community house in shambles, L’manberg nothing but a crater, an ankle monitor strapped tightly to Phil’s leg- all his fault.

_ Traitor. _

Dream holding the memory book to Tubbo, Tubbo glaring at him, his friends calling him a coward, turning their backs on him. Ranboo had betrayed everyone.

Eventually, the echoes of the nightmare faded into nothing, leaving just the icy silence of midnight on the arctic plains.

He began to relax, his breathing started to slow- “you’ve done a lot of bad things-” a single voice cut through the silence like butter.

“D-Dream?” Ranboo jerked around, looking for the owner to the voice, feeling the panic slip back into a tight knot in his stomach.

“You blew up the community house.”

“What?” Ranboo whispered silently, jumping to his feet, searching frantically for the figure as he began to hyperventilate.

“You helped Dream get the TNT for L’manberg.”

Ranboo backed towards the door, covering his ears with his hands and shaking his head, close to tears- “no- I would never do that.”

“But you did, why can’t you remember?” The voice whispered, sliding through his thoughts like a snake.

“I- I don’t know.”

“You betrayed everyone-” the voice echoed through his mind, searing a simple smile into the back of Ranboo’s mind as it faded into the cold arctic midnight.

“No-” Ranboo shuttered, “no- I didn’t- I wouldn’t.” His mind started spinning, Dream’s words echoing in his head over and over, overlapping, smile upon evil smile branded itself into his mind until the panic and fear burst.

Turning and fleeing the small shed in a panic- Ranboo sprinted across the frozen plains. Small green sparks occasionally popped in the air around him as he tried to escape the voice in his head. It wasn’t until he heard the distinct sound of a knock on wood that he snapped back to reality- He was standing at the heavy wooden door of Techno’s cabin. Had he knocked on the door? He must’ve, but why? Why was he running to Techno and Phil; they didn’t owe him anything, no, he would deal with this himself. He took a shaky breath and turned to go back to his poorly built shack- but as he did, he saw a lantern flicker to life the upper window- Techno. Ranboo's heart dropped. Phil at least liked him- Techno had attacked him multiple times in the past; Techno had said Ranboo couldn’t stay in the house with them, Techno definitely hated him- and had every reason to. After all, Ranboo was one of the people who had tried to kill him just a month ago. Why on earth did it have to be Technoblade?

Ranboo stood frozen in fear as he heard Techno descend the ladder, he opened the door with an annoyed expression.

“What is it Ranboo,” he grumbled- “Phil isn’t here.”

“I-I'm sorry-“ Ranboo tried to say, but the only sounds coming out of his mouth were the distorted chirps of ender. His breath caught as he stood on the doorstep, his thin tail flicked with fear as he stepped back.  _ Why couldn’t he speak? No, it must’ve been a mistake, he just hadn’t tried hard enough. _

“Sorry, I don’t-“ he tried again, met by the same distorted chirps as he started trembling.  _ What was wrong with him? _ His hands were shaking violently now, his eyes filled with tears as he stood on the doorstep of the feared piglin warrior.

“Techno-” Ranboo pleaded desperately, hoping he would be able to recognize it through the distortion of Ender. “Techno please-” tears began rolling down his face, burning his cheeks slightly with a quiet sizzle. Ranboo hid his head in his hands, embarrassed that this was happening now, in front of someone who probably despised him- why had he not just stayed in his shack, why was this happening here. He dropped to the snow-covered porch of the cottage- leaning against the railing as tears continued to stream down his face, leaving faint burn lines across his face.

After a few seconds, Ranboo felt a hesitant hoof touch the side of his shoe. He looked up at Techno- His battle scared face showed no emotion, but his eyes softened a little. “Let’s go inside, come on,” the Piglin said- gently if not a little awkwardly- as he gestured for him to come inside the house.

Ranboo sat in shock on Techno's couch in the attic as he ran around the house, grabbing things and muttering softly to himself. After about a minute, he returned with a stack of blankets. He handed one of them to Ranboo, setting the rest in the corner of the room.

“I hope this helps. I’m trying to think of what Phil would do. He’s much better at this than me,” Techno mumbled awkwardly, “he chooses the worst times to go adventuring.”

Ranboo smiled a little- “thanks,” he tried to say, carefully thinking about each sound. It still came out distorted.

Techno smiled, trying to hide his tusks. “I’m going to get you a potion to help with the burns on your face.” He turned and descended the ladder to the basement, returning a few seconds later with a dark pink potion. “Here, it’s a regeneration potion, it will help you get your strength back, and it should help with the burns on your face too- I’d give you water, but I don’t know how you would react... With being an Enderman and things.” Ranboo took the potion and drank it, feeling the burns on his face lessen almost immediately. “Sleep in my bed tonight,” Techno offered, “I’ll take the couch downstairs instead of Phil.”

Ranboo shook his head frantically as Techno turned to leave- “no, I can’t sleep, I don’t want them to come back-” he explained in a panic, hoping Techno could figure it out.

“I can’t understand you,” Techno told him, “but you clearly don’t want to sleep.” Ranboo nodded, beginning to tear up again as he thought back to Dream’s voice in his ear.

“Uhh- Nono, it’s ok kid-“ Techno awkwardly tried to comfort Ranboo, “dang it- what would Phil do?” Techno thought back to the many late nights Phil would spend up with Tommy after he ran away from Dream. His wings cradling the boy’s shaking form while he jumped at every footstep and flinched at every noise. Phil would reassure him that he was safe, somewhere where Dream couldn’t hurt him, and keep him close until Tommy fell asleep. Techno didn't have wings like Phil, but maybe he could help a little.

Techno sat next to Ranboo on the couch awkwardly, “there’s something Phil would do for Tommy," he said hesitantly- “do you want me to?” He held up his cape awkwardly and, after a moment of hesitation, Ranboo silently crawled under his arm. Techno draped his cloak back over Ranboo as the boy put his head on Techno's lap, his panicked breaths slowly steadying into a rhythm.

Phil knocked the snow off his boots as he entered the small house in the early hours of sunlight- he climbed the ladder to Techno's room- seeing the soft torchlight from above, and was amazed by the scene he saw.

Techno has fallen asleep sitting on the couch, unusual- but the real wonder was the lanky half enderman that laid curled up on the couch, half on Techno's lap. As Phil stepped into the attic and laid his hat on the table, Techno's eyes shot open, looking around quickly until he saw Phil. The Warrior quickly relaxed once he realized there was no danger.

“Techno, what’s going on up here?” Phil inquired- his mind flashing back to when Techno had said he wasn’t going to get involved with Ranboo past letting him live nearby, he couldn’t help but smile a little, however.

“The kid showed up on the doorstep having a panic attack, I think he was looking for you, and I felt bad leaving him out there,” Techno grunted, trying to play it off. 

“Uh-huh,” Phil laughed, walking over and sitting on the bed across from Techno- “we both know that wasn’t the reason, cuz if it was, he wouldn’t be laying in your lap like you were trying to comfort him.”

“Fine, the kid is alright,” Techno admitted reluctantly, “and he was obviously in distress. Couldn’t even speak to me- just kept garbling in Ender, though I’m pretty sure he said thanks at one point.”

As Techno finished explaining the events of the previous night, the boy in Techno's lap groaned. Techno and Phil both stopped to look in his direction.

“Hey kid, feeling better?” Techno asked, lifting his cloak as Ranboo sat up on the couch.

“Uh- A little...” came the soft reply, still slightly distorted, but definitely English. “Sorry for bugging you last night.”

“Considering the state Techno says you were in, I don’t think you should be apologizing,” Phil said. He was sitting on Techno's bed across the small room- “we’d both rather you wake us up than leave you to deal with whatever put you in a state like that.”

“I just had a bad dream. I could’ve handled it myself instead of waking Techno-” Ranboo whispered, ashamed.

“You couldn’t speak, and you started crying. The tears were burning your face,” Techno cut in bluntly.

“I guess..” Ranboo mumbled, hugging his knees to his chest in the corner of the couch, looking quietly at the floor, a silence filled the room.

Techno glanced at Phil worriedly, not quite knowing what to do, Phil got up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll stay here with Ran- why don’t you go feed the animals, and go feed his too while you’re at it because I’m not letting him leave just yet.”

Techno nodded, standing up and walking towards the ladder. Just before he descended the ladder, he turned and mouthed a quick thank you to Phil.


	2. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno Reflects on His relationship with Ranboo, and finds some worry info  
> Ranboo confides in Phil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading the first chapter- I'm having a lot of fun writing this. That being said I had this chapter half done already, so the next one may take a little bit longer to come out. I mainly write this late at night, So how much I get done depends on how messed up my sleep schedule is.  
> Again thanks for reading it makes me very happy that people are reading and enjoying some little thing I decided to write for fun.

Techno hefted two large bags of dog food over his shoulder before pushing open the basement's heavy wooden door. As he walked out to the abandoned house Tommy had started building with Ghostbur before betraying him, he thought about Ranboo. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the kid- he was actually quite a sweet kid. He reminded him a bit of his younger self, a much milder, much less violent version of himself.

Techno dropped the bags of food on the ground inside the door of the makeshift dog kennel, starting to fill the many bowls. No, it wasn't that he didn’t like Ranboo- but he didn't know how to approach him, especially when he obviously needed a comforting figure to lean on. Techno knew very well he wasn’t a reassuring figure- to anyone, but definitely not to Ranboo. He had seen the fear in his eyes widen when he opened the door last night. Maybe if he was better at showing his emotions or communicating, then Ranboo might feel more comfortable around him.

Techno had finished feeding the dogs at this point, but he sat in the middle of the kennel as some of the many dogs came up, wanting attention. After a couple of minutes, he stood up, leaving the dogs as he began making his way across the plains towards Ranboo’s mountain shack. When Techno thought about it, it probably hadn’t helped his relationship with Ranboo that Techno wouldn’t let himself get close to him. After Tommy’s recent betrayal, it had been hard enough for Phil to convince him to let Ranboo move nearby. Only his obvious concern had convinced Techno to give him a chance. But as Techno thought about the kid that had curled up in his cloak last night, he decided that maybe, just maybe, he should let himself trust him just a little bit.

Techno opened the gate to Ranboo’s shack and stepped inside before stopping in his tracks. Around the small hut were small scratched out symbols and messages. Among the words carved in strange runes, there were some in English. As Techno looked over the walls, he read them to himself.

_ Your Fault. _

_ Choose People. _

_ You betrayed Everyone. _

Techno took a shaky breath as he continued to look around. A multitude of Smiley faces stared at him from the fence posts and walls. On the back dirt wall of the shack, a chest was buried, half-covered in dirt in an attempt to hide it.

Quickly tearing his gaze away from the walls, he walked over to the bag of food lying in the corner. He put food into the small fenced area housing Ranboo’s pet rabbit. He filled the bowls of cat food, but as he went to put them down outside, a small shelf by the door caught his eye. Putting the bowls down outside- he turned and walked back inside the shed, gently taking the book off the shelf by the door. ‘Memory Book #2’ was engraved on the cover- underneath it in small letters read ‘do not read.' Techno moved to put the book back on the shelf- but hesitated- looking around at the walls of the shed, he sighed. The journal may say do not read, but to be completely honest with himself- Techno was worried about what was going on. This book seemed to be the best chance he had at figuring it out. After a couple seconds of pondering, Techno sat on the bed with the small journal and opened to the first page.

Ranboo and Phil sat in awkward silence after Techno descended the ladder. After about 30 seconds, Ranboo started shifting uncomfortably.

“Oh-” Phil started, realizing he had been staring at the enderling, “Sorry, forgot-” he apologized, averting his gaze slightly to one side.

“Phil-” Ranboo whispered hesitantly, “I don’t know what to do.” He hugged his knees to his chest quietly, burying his head into his knees. He heard the creaking of the bed as Phil stood up and a second later felt a feathery wing brush against him as Phil sat down next to him.

“What's wrong Ran,” Phil asked gently, “I’m here.”

“I- It was me-” Ranboo stuttered, choking back tears, regeneration potions were expensive, and he didn’t want Phil to waste one on him. He had already used one of Techno’s last night.

“Come here,” Phil opened his wings, letting Ranboo move closer before encasing him in a feathery hug. Ranboo tensed up for a second before relaxing, laying his head on Phil’s shoulder.

Ranboo sat in Phil's hug, feeling safe for one of the first times since he had joined L’manberg almost two months ago.

“I blew up the community house- it was me. I betrayed everyone,” Ranboo was talking almost without realizing it- “I betrayed Tubbo, I betrayed Tommy, I betrayed you. The only person I haven’t betrayed is Dream. I hate Dream, I want him to leave me alone, but he’s everywhere.” Ranboo couldn’t stop his tears as they started running down his face again, leaving more burn marks.

Phil said nothing, instead wrapping the crying boy even tighter into his wings. As if he was scared Ranboo would break if he let go.

Ranboo’s sobbing slowly subsided, giving way to deep, even breaths as he once again fell asleep. Phil stroked his hair gently until he was sure the enderling was fully asleep. Phil slowly and carefully unfolded his wings and picked him up with surprising ease. He carefully moved him across the small room to Techno’s bed. As he covered him with the blankets Techno had stacked in the corner, he heard the front door swing open. He quietly descended the ladder, putting a finger to his lips when Techno looked up at him, pointing upstairs to show that Ranboo had fallen asleep. Techno nodded in understanding before gesturing for Phil to follow. Confused, Phil put on his boots and followed Techno back out into the snow.

Techno led Phil back towards Ranboo’s small house. The usually unbothered Piglin had a strange look in his eye, and he kept looking back at Phil as if asking him silently to hurry up.

“Why are you leading me to Ranboo’s,” Phil asked with concern- Techno was usually so unbothered that this sense of urgency worried him.

“I just… I need you to see this,” Techno admitted, “I’m actually pretty worried about the kid, and I just wanted a second opinion.”

“Well, I can tell you that you’re right to be worried. What does this have to do with his house?”

“You’ll see, it's pretty obvious.”

Approaching the shack, Techno hesitated for a second, taking a deep breath before opening the gate, letting Phil enter first, and following behind.

“What the fuck,” Phil said a few seconds later, looking around at the walls and ceiling, running his hand over some of the carved messages in a nearby wall.

“Yeah, like I said, I'm worried about him-” Techno walked up behind Phil, looking around the shack again with a strange look in his eye.

“This goes way past worry Techno, I mean- look at all this-” Phil gestured around the small shack as a tear pricked at his eye.

“There’s one last thing I wanted you to see-” Techno admitted solemnly, grabbing the journal from where he had left it on the bed. “This is one of his memory books- I didn’t mean to pry, I was just worried, and I wanted to know what was going on. But I found some stuff in it, and I think you need to see it.” He handed the small book to Phil, who took a deep breath before opening it.


	3. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil walks Ranboo back home- But he has something to ask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to everyone who's read, liked, bookmarked, and commented on this- you have no idea how happy it makes me that people enjoy this so much.  
> I have so much fun writing this and I'm glad there are people who have just as much fun reading it.

The late morning sun shone through the attic window as Ranboo opened his eyes sleepily. He sat up groggily, taking in the room around him for the first time. The room was somewhat small- the creaky bed and lumpy old couch were the only places to sit. Overflowing bookshelves lined half the room, old worn books crammed in the many shelves. Extra books lay in messy stacks on the floor around the intricate obsidian enchanting table. In the corner, a large wooden crate served as a table, two items sitting on top. The first item was a metal lantern with a half-burned wick. The other, however, was another dark pink potion. A small piece of paper with Ranboo’s name poked out from under the glass bottle.

Ranboo quietly drank the potion, feeling the burn marks from earlier that morning begin to heal. He set the empty bottle down, pushing away the lurking guilt of taking more of Techno's potions. After all, he knew Phil wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Ranboo climbed the ladder down to the main floor of the cabin to find Techno and Phil sat at the dining table- A large map spread out in front of them as they discussed softly, making notes on the map as they did so. As he reached the bottom of the ladder, Techno’s voice cut out as his ears pricked up attentively.

“Hey kid-” Techno greeted him, not looking up from the map as he wrote another note down, “how you doing.”

“Uh, I’m doing better,” Ranboo mumbled, his thin tail anxiously flicking as he stood awkwardly by the ladder. “I think I'm going to head home,” he said after a moment- “thanks for everything- I’ll make you some potions to replace the ones you used on me.”

“No need, I have plenty-” Techno interrupted, glancing up at him, “and I don’t plan on fighting much anymore, at least not for a while.”

“Oh, ok-” Ranboo nodded quietly, an awkward silence filling the room.

“Well,” Phil stood up from the table after a few seconds, “if you’re ready to head home-” he moved to put on his jacket- “then I’ll come with you.”

“Oh uh, that's ok-” Ranboo stuttered slightly, “you’ve already done so much for me-” he trailed off as Phil put a hand on his arm.

“Ran- its no big deal, if it was up to me, I’d make you stay here, but you’re your own boy- so at least give me this.”

“I-” Ranboo hesitated slightly, he didn’t want to worry Phil, and it would be nice to have someone with him, just in case the voice was waiting for him. “Sure.”

Ranboo walked a few steps ahead of Phil towards his small house. Occasionally he glanced back at Phil, who would nod at him supportively. As they approached it, he felt a knot form in his stomach again, his breath beginning to become uneven as his mind starting spinning. He could almost hear the memory of the voice ringing in his ears, getting louder the closer he got to the gate.

Phil’s strong hand squeezing his own brought his thoughts back to the arctic plains, and he realized he had stopped about three steps from his gate. Phil stood in front of him, looking up at him with concern.

“Ranboo, what happened last night?” He asked, his voice shaking slightly.

“I- I had a nightmare, and it freaked me out, that's all…”

“I don’t really believe that that’s all that happened-” Phil turned and walked the couple steps to the entrance, Ranboo following him through the gate into the small shack. “Look around Ranboo- this doesn’t happen just from a nightmare.”

“What doesn’t-” Ranboo started, freezing as he saw the frantic lettering carved into the walls. “Did I do all this?” he muttered in confusion- “when did I do this? Why didn’t I notice this before?” He sat down on the bed in silent shock as he thought back to the past few days- how had he not noticed these? Were they new? Had he just not been paying attention?

“After you fell asleep this morning, Techno asked me to come out here- I’m worried Ran,  _ Techno’s _ worried- and that pig is almost never worried.” Phil sat on the bed next to Ranboo, pulling him out of his thoughts yet again as he gently wrapped a comforting wing around him- “let us help you.”

“Techno’s worried?” Ranboo was confused- “I thought he hated me, I thought he was only putting up with me because you asked him to. I was in the group that tried to hurt him. He’s tried to kill me more times than I can count, and wasn’t he the one who said I couldn’t live in the house with you guys? That I had to build my own place?”

“Techno guards himself- after everyone from Pogtopia betrayed him, he stopped trusting. Then when he finally let his guard down and let Tommy in, he went and betrayed him again. It doesn’t excuse his aggressiveness, but Techno never hated you.” Phil smiled a little, “He’s actually quite fond of you- that's why he went to such lengths to keep you at arm’s distance.”

Ranboo sat contemplating for a few minutes in shocked silence. “I was scared,” he admitted finally- “that if you or Techno knew the truth, you would kick me out, and then I wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”

“We’re not going to kick you out Ran- but I don’t want you living by yourself right now. These engravings are worrying, especially if you don’t remember carving them.”

“O-oh,” Ranboo mumbled softly, his tail flicking slightly. He looked at the ground embarrassed, of course his memory was causing problems again.

“I’d feel much better if you at least slept in the house with us.” Ranboo looked up suddenly as Phil spoke again, “and before you ask, yes, I checked with Techno,” Phil quickly added as he opened his mouth to object- “He agrees with me on this.”

“What about my pets?” Ranboo asked with worry- he didn’t want to leave them here alone after all.

“Of course they can come, you’ve seen Techno’s house- it's practically a zoo, that pig loves pets.”

“Okay, then yeah- It would be nice to have proper walls for a change-” Ranboo admitted with a small smile.

“Then let's grab some of your stuff and go home,” Phil smiled, reaching up between Ranboo’s two small horns and ruffling his long messy hair.

Ranboo walked back into the house with Phil, hugging Ranbun tightly. As he entered, he saw Techno look up from a small notebook he was writing in. The map laid on the table beneath it.

“Welcome back kid-” he said with a slight smile, “glad Phil convinced you to stay here with us instead of out in that little shack.”

Ranboo looked back at Techno, slightly shocked at his words. “Yeah,” he laughed uncomfortably- “thanks, by the way.”

“Hrmph,” Techno grunted slightly in response, “you want an extra set of hands to move your stuff over here?”

“Oh- no, I got everything,” Ranboo admitted softly, “I don't have a lot of stuff worth moving over- the TnT destroyed most of it-” he trailed off. Techno and Phil- along with Dream- were the ones who had blown up his old home.

The awkward glances between Phil and Techno showed that they remembered it too, “yeah... Sorry-” Techno said awkwardly, “about your stuff, that is, not about blowing the city up.”

“It’s fine, I got the most important things-” Ranboo looked around the main room curiously, “I don’t know where you were thinking I'll sleep- I’m fine with just a cot on the floor-” he trailed off as Techno stood up. He gestured for him to follow.

Ranboo handed his bunny to Phil and followed as Techno led him down to the cellar, where a cow came up to them curiously. Techno scratched the cow on the head quickly before pulling out a sleek netherite pickaxe, swiftly breaking away a piece of the floor to reveal a cavern beneath. He jumped down and lit a torch, placing it on the wall before looking up at Ranboo.

“Jump!” he shouted up at him- “I’ll catch you.”

Ranboo took a deep breath before jumping down the hole. He felt weightless for a second before he left himself thud gently into Techno's arms. He stood up and looked around the cavern- pieces of crumbling stone and yellow concrete lay scattered on the ground.

“Tommy made this room when he first moved in-” Techno had a distant look in his eye as he spoke, “I blew it up when he betrayed me, but Phil and I will help you make it into a small place for you to stay.” He looked over at the enderling, who was looking around the cavern in slight awe. “You’ll have some privacy like your old place, but you’ll be right here if you need us-” Techno started rambling slightly, worried that Ranboo wouldn’t like the arrangement.

“Thanks, Techno, I like it,” Ranboo interrupted his rambling, smiling.

“Good, let's get Phil and get started then,” Techno grinned back, starting to let the awkward teen into his heart.


	4. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long day, there's one more conversation that needs to be had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is short- When I come to a good stopping point I feel awkward if I make the chapter go past it, even if it would make more sense length-wise.  
> But anyway here are some Boreal crumbs that will be expanded upon later along with me trying to balance angst and dadza wholesomeness without making myself feel second hand anxiety for Ranboo.

Ranboo was exhausted by the time they had finished fixing up the old destroyed room. He hadn’t done much of the heavy lifting, but unlike Phil or Techno, he didn’t have the hardened muscles or experience. As Ranboo groaned in pain, stretching his sore arms and shoulders, he watched the two experienced warriors from the small bench by the side door. The two stood facing each other in the fading evening light of the snowy plains, each wielding a wooden sparring blade.

Techno had shed his thick cloak, giving it to Ranboo to wear with a grunt, “it restricts my movement- you can wear it while you watch us, only so it doesn't get ruined by the snow or anything like that.”

Ranboo happily accepted the warm cloak, watching their sparring in awe. Miniscule mistakes from one or the other would be all that decided winner versus loser. Ranboo cheered for both sides enthusiastically, happily forgetting the voice as he watched the wooden blades clack and dance against each other.

After about an hour of matches, Techno helped Phil up from the ground, silently laughing as joy flashed through his eyes. Ranboo handed Techno’s cloak back as they approached, almost bouncing with joy.

“That was awesome,” he raved as they went back inside, imitating a move he had seen Techno do in the last fight- “I wish I could be as good at sword fighting as you guys.”

Techno placed the wooden swords back in their chest, looking back at Ranboo, his eyes still sparkling.

“We can spar tomorrow if you want-” Techno grinned, his lower tusks gleaming in the torchlight- “it’s good practice, and nothing beats a good fight to clear your mind.”

“Okay!” Ranboo smiled back happily- his tail flicking back and forth with excitement.

“Well, I'm glad you liked it Ran,” Phil cut into the conversation- “you must be exhausted though- you probably aren't used to all the work we did this afternoon.”

“Yeah- I'm probably going to grab Ranbun and go to bed,” Ranboo admitted sheepishly.

“I’ll get Ranbun for you,” Phil went over to the corner of the cabin where they had made a makeshift kennel for the bunny, gently picking him up in his arms. “Why don't you go get his area set up- I'll be down in a sec.” Ranboo nodded excitedly, turning and heading down the ladder to the basement.

“Are you going to ask him about the book?” Techno whispered softly, putting a hand on Phil’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I think so- depends on how he’s doing, I don't want to push him.”

“Well, good luck.”

“Thanks.”

Ranboo was arranging a pile of hay in the corner of the room when Phil came down, holding Ranbun tightly in one arm as he awkwardly climbed down the ladder. He handed him to Ranboo, who set him down among the small pile of hay. He sat down next to the bunny, pulling out some dandelions and beginning to feed them to him.

“Hey Ran, I wanted to talk to you about something-” Phil said hesitantly, not wanting to interrupt him as he sat happily feeding the rabbit.

“Oh- uh, okay?” He glanced up nervously at Phil, who had moved to sit on the old bed they had moved from Ranboo’s shack. Ranboo picked his bunny up, hugging him tightly in his arms as he waited for Phil to speak.

“When Techno went out to feed your animals this morning,” Phil spoke slowly, trying to gauge Ranboo's reaction out of the corner of his eye- “he saw the writing on your walls, and he found a book on your shelf.”

Ranboo’s eyes went wide, his hands beginning to tremble as he hugged Ranbun tighter. “Phil I-” he started before being cut off by Phil’s next sentence.

“We were worried about you,” Phil continued, taking a shaky breath- “so we read it. It’s your private journal, and I’m sorry, it wasn’t the right thing for us to do, but we needed to know what was causing you so much distress.” 

Ranboo nodded softly, trying to keep his breath steady. Ranbun began rubbing his head gently against Ranboo’s arm. “If I'm honest though- the book just brought up more questions- and more worry.” Phil paused, looking at Ranboo for a second before continuing. “Techno and I want to help you, but you have to tell us what's going on, please Ranboo, we won’t push you to if you don't want to, but please let us help.” He knelt down next to the enderling sitting on the floor, his face now buried in the black and white bunny that lay nestled in his arms.

“Okay-” came a muffled answer, Ranboo slowly glanced up to Phil, half trying to hide behind the rabbit, “but tomorrow. I need time to figure out how to explain it.”

“That's perfectly fine,” Phil smiled- “sleep well Ran, wake Techno or me up if you need us.” He ruffled Ranboo’s hair affectionately before climbing the ladder out of the basement room.


	5. Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo explains everything, and gets something in return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been a bit- And honestly I'm still not super proud of this one but I figured I just needed to stop overthinking it. Theres a few other things I want to do with this story but the main thing I wanted to cover is done so updates will probably spaced a bit more to whenever I feel like writing something.

Ranboo sat across from Techno and Phil in the attic. The late morning light streaming through the window, revealing rays of dust particles that floated softly in the air. He sat on Techno’s bed nervously. Fidgeting with the chunk of grass sitting in his lap and twirling the blades of grass through his fingers as Phil and Techno sat patiently on the couch, waiting.

“I guess I’ll just start then-” Ranboo glanced around awkwardly, feeling more and more uncomfortable as Phil and Techno watched him intently.

“Right before the festival, I built a small bunker, just in case things went wrong. It's outside L’manberg- the entrance is underwater, so I have to swim to it.” He began to describe the room, the events of the festival, and the argument that had transpired after his friends found his memory book. “So I went to my bunker to think things over. I was trying to figure out whether I would fight when you guys came to destroy L’manberg. But then-” Ranboo hesitated, this was it. Once he told them about the voice, he realized- there was no going back. Right here was the turning point, the final place to tap out.

“What happened Ran, it’s ok- I promise.” Phil reached over, placing a gentle hand on his forearm.

“Then I heard Dream,” Ranboo took a deep breath, forcing the words out before he could back out. “I heard Dream’s voice. He told me that I must’ve helped Tommy destroy the community house- that I didn’t remember- that I betrayed everyone.” He trailed off as the words echoed back into his mind- the darkness of the obsidian room threatening to overwhelm his memory.

“Hey-” Techno snapped his fingers in Ranboo’s direction, “I can see you zoning out, don't get lost in your memories, stay here.”

“Thanks-” Ranboo said slowly, reorienting himself. “Dream, or his voice, has talked to me a few times. It's usually only when I’m in the bunker- but the other night I had a bad nightmare, and when I woke up, I heard him.” He gestured loosely in the direction of his shack. “It sounds stupid- a voice in my head made me so panicked that I ran away from it like that-” he stopped as he felt Techno’s hand on his shoulder. He looked up from the grass he had been staring at intently- and found the piglin standing in front of him. He was glancing around awkwardly- as if he wasn’t quite sure where he should look to keep from looking Ranboo in the eyes.

“It- it’s not stupid. I get it.” Techno grunted hesitantly- as if he was still unsure about saying it. “I hear voices too- not Dream’s, but countless others.” He slowly stepped away, glancing at Phil.

“Y-you hear voices?” Ranboo stammered slightly, shocked that Techno had told him. It seemed really personal.

“Yeah, They freaked me out when they first started- they overwhelmed me a lot, though I can usually control them now.”

“What happens when you can’t control them?”

Techno hesitated, glancing at Phil again before answering with a deep breath. “Well, last time I lost control was in L’manberg. Hundreds of thousands of voices, screaming for blood, what was I meant to do-” he smiled sadly, a faraway look in his eye. “The more I let myself get into it, the more they carried me away- until there was nothing in the carnage.” Techno Sat back down on the couch, closing his eyes as he continued. “Before then, it was when you and your old friends came here. If Quackity hadn’t threatened Carl, I doubt I could’ve stopped myself until every one of you was dead in the snow. But once Carl was in danger, the voices just- stopped.” Techno went quiet, nodding to himself softly.

Phil rested a hand on Techno’s arm reassuringly. “The voices Techno hears aren’t like the one you hear,” he told Ranboo gently, “but he understands why something like that would cause you so much panic.”

Ranboo nodded, standing up and holding a hesitant hand out to Techno, “well- you said sword fighting was a good way to clear your mind, do you want to?”

“Sure-” Techno smirked, “let's go.”

“Hold up,” Phil held a hand up as Techno began to spring up from the couch, “Ranboo, I have one other question, the writing and symbols on your walls- when are those from?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.”

“Ok, figured that would be the case- just thought it was worth asking anyway- go ahead then.” Phil grinned as the two scrambled down the ladder- listening to Techno begin to explain the basics as he gathered the materials- and followed them down and out into the snow to watch.

Ranboo awkwardly held the wooden sword in both hands, facing Techno in the snowy expanse of the arctic plains. The warrior across from him held his sword confidently in one hand as he walked Ranboo through a couple of basic moves.

“Are you ready? I’m going to start slowly, then as you get used to it- I’ll get faster.”

“Yeah,” Ranboo adjusted his grip on his sword before Techno stepped forward.

The first clack of the swords thudded across the snow, and Ranboo grunted. Even Techno’s soft hit rang through his bones as he struggled to keep the sparring sword in place against it. As the exchange continued, Ranboo failed more and more to keep Techno’s sword swings at bay. After just a few minutes, he laid on the ground- looking straight up at the dull blade of the sparring sword, breathing heavily.

“Hey, that was pretty ok for a first go,” Techno helped Ranboo up, brushing the snow off his back. “Though you need some muscle, or else I’ll push right through you.”

Ranboo nodded as Techno returned to face him, pulling out his sword again.

Ranboo sat on the bench about thirty minutes later, breathing heavily and rubbing his sore muscles. Techno and Phil were at it again, and Ranboo watched intensely as the wooden blades danced against each other, their feet making hundreds of prints in the snow as they moved. He smiled, watching as the clacking of blades and laughter between the two old friends continued into the afternoon.


End file.
